Beating high blood pressure with stir-fried beef salad with mango

This colourful Thai-style dish is bursting with fresh flavours and deliciously contrasting textures. The dressing is completely oil-free, so despite the beef and nuts, this dish is light in calories.

Preparation time 30 minutes

Cooking time about 10 minutes

Serves 4

Stir-Fry

• 500 g (1 lb) lean steak, such as sirloin
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5 ml (1 tsp) sugar
• 10 ml (2 tsp) low-sodium soy sauce
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) canola oil

Dressing

• 10 ml (2 tsp) paprika
• 10 ml (2 tsp) mild chili powder
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) honey
• 2.5 cm (1-in) piece fresh ginger, grated
• 250 ml (1 c) water
• 60 ml (4 tbsp) vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime or lemon

Salad

• 1 mango, peeled and cut into strips
• 2 plums, sliced
• 1/4 medium red cabbage
• 500 g (2 c) watercress leaves
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 red pepper
• 3 to 4 scallions, cut into diagonal pieces
• 50 g (1/4 c) mixed fresh mint and cilantro
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

1. To make the dressing, put the paprika, chili powder, honey, ginger and rice or cider vinegar in a pot and slowly add 250 millilitres (1 cup) water, stirring. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime or lemon juice. Set aside.2. Shred the cabbage, cut the cucumber into matchsticks and cut the pepper into thin strips. Combine all the salad ingredients, except the peanuts, in a large shallow serving dish and toss gently together until evenly mixed. Set aside.3. Cut the steak into thin strips for stir-frying. Put the steak in a bowl with the garlic, sugar and soy sauce and mix together so the strips of steak are seasoned. Heat a wok or nonstick pan on a high heat, then add the oil. Add the beef and stir-fry until the strips are evenly browned and cooked to taste.4. Spoon the stir-fried beef over the salad. Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle with the peanuts. Serve immediately.

• Add cubes of fresh or canned pineapple (in juice, not syrup) or kiwi to the salad to increase the fruit content.
• Spice up the salad with very thin strips of fresh red chili pepper — particularly if you have a cold — as scientists have suggested that eating chilis can help to alleviate nasal congestion.
• Replace the mango with 2 nectarines, unpeeled and sliced.
• For a vegetarian version, omit the stir-fried beef and increase the quantity of peanuts to 160 grams (5 1/2 ounces). Peanuts are an excellent source of protein and contain much less saturated fat than meat.

• Apart from adding its delicious spiciness to the dressing, ginger also aids digestion.

Each serving provides:

Key nutrients: 470 Calories, 170 Calories from Fat, 19 g Fat, 5 g Saturated Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 42 g Protein, 33 g Carb, 5 g Fibre, 200 mg Sodium

Blood pressure nutrients: 90 mg Vitamin C, 77 mg Magnesium, 1036 mg Potassium, 75 mg Calcium